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Posted: Feb 19, 2013

User Friendly Nanofiber Production

(Nanowerk News) Nanofiber structures provide properties that cannot be achieved with bulk materials. As a result, nano-business is expanding rapidly. And it is set to accelerate even further as more and more technological barriers fall by the wayside. For example, the recently announced apparatus for electrospinning, 4SPIN, delivers a major increase in efficiency combined with simpler operation, greater safety and a multi-functional set-up.

The user friendliness of this unit is immediately apparent, with intuitive touch screen control and options allowing the operator to define, save and reload precise production processes. 4SPIN can be connected to a PC, and records of all process data can be stored on computer.

As electrospinning (the most commercialized method of nanofiber production) requires high voltage, safety is paramount. Safety features, such as an electronically controlled door lock and an automatic discharge mechanism for residual charges on the electrodes, are a guarantee of 4SPIN’s occupational safety.

What makes the new electrospinning apparatus stand out from other devices on the market is its ability to make nanofibers from an extremely wide range of materials. As a result, the unit is not limited to any one discipline or industry. Besides filtration or environmental applications, it can also cope with the development of nanofiber materials for medicine, electronics and other fields.

Nanofibers are produced not only by conventional needle nozzles, but also by needleless and unique multi-needleless jets. Needleless jets offer much higher output and do away with cleaning and clogging issues. The production capacity of multi-needleless jet is between 2 and 13 times greater (depending on the type of solution) than the commonly used “free liquid surface” spinning electrodes. Naturally, the specifications of the nanofibres produced remain constant over time and the fiber diameter is stable. This is another requirement that is essential for the commercialization of nanomaterials.

In the US, the apparatus will be presented at the Bio Inventional Convention in Chicago on 22–25 April 2013. The price set by the manufacturer is sure to attract the interest of many research centres and will be unveiled in late January, when the device makes its bow at Nano Tech 2013 in Tokyo.

Source: Contipro (press release)

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